Rhythm and Blues
by Chie TomoRii
Summary: A year after SODOM and that gang's back to their normal lives as students. What if Yanagi forced them to join the annual Battle of the Bands and Fuuko's their vocalist? Will Fuuko's voice be the way to melt the ice cold heart of Tokiya Mikagami? TOFUU!
1. Who's who?

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Flame of Recca and the characters involved in this fic. Anzai-sensei does. :D

**Author's Note/s:** my very first ToFuu fic. Yeah the last one I made was just a slightly ToFuu but this is the real Tofuu fic. Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

This fic is dedicated to all those who read and reviewed my previous fic, _Just a Best Friend_. This is the side-story that most of them wanna know. :D

* * *

**Rhythm ****and Blues**

_Chapter One_

"Minna-chan! Look at this! Look at this!"

The Hokage gang all turned their heads to the running Yanagi Sakohita, who was holding something that they thought of as a roll of paper, followed shortly by the campus-crush, Tokiya Mikagami, who has his hands in his pockets as he walked .

Yanagi stopped on her tracks just exactly beside Recca and bowed down a little to gasp for air. It took her quite awhile before she straightened up and said excitedly, "Look at this minna-chan!" as she unrolled the paper for them to take peek on the poster she was holding, "It's the annual 'Battle of the Bands' of our school!"

There was a big silence from the group until..

"Hehehe.. so what does it have do with us?" said Recca that made him earn a glare from Yanagi.

"Of course, it's part of our work from the SC, right Mikagami-sempai?"

Tokiya just nodded at the acknowledgement of his presence, thanks to Yanagi.

"My.. you really are serious with your Student Council work, eh Hime?"

"Of course I am!" Yanagi said with a wide smile on her face. True, she and Tokiya are part of the Student Council for this year. As expected, Tokiya won as President even without breaking a sweat, thanks to his growing fan club in school. Yanagi, on the contrary, gained the position for Batch Representative, thanks to the Hokage who threatened their batchmates' lives if they won't vote for her.

"Sorry guys, I'm late," said a purple haired girl in the form of a Fuuko Kirisawa, "got into a small trouble with my locker. Boy! When will guys learn what to and not to put inside a student's locker," she added, as she took a seat beside Tokiya and opposite Domon, dropping more than a handful of letters on the floor. All eyes widened when they realized that all of it are love letters from Fuuko's fan club.

"Fuuko here, sure is competing with our own Mikagami, eh?" Recca teased as Tokiya glared at him, "hehehe.. Easy there, Mikagami-sempai! It's just that—"

Yanagi cleared her throat when she realized that the gang's attention is not at her anymore.

"As I am saying, there will be an annual 'Battle of the Bands' wherein each band will play at least five original songs."

"so what does it have do with us, Yanagi-chan?" asked a very curious Domon, who is secretly peeking through Fuuko's short skirt.

"Well, we were assigned to work on pairs, in the SC. I mean, so it's Mikagami-sempai and I. The work is about this!" and she lifted one index finger and used it to point to the poster she's holding.

"wait wait wait… we're not getting your point Yanagi-chan," Fuuko said as she scratched her head after blowing a punch to Domon, who flew far, far away.

"What I'm saying is that I want the gang to join the Battle of the Bands!"

Silence once again engulfed the group until everyone burst out laughing, well except Yanagi who's entirely clueless and, of course, Tokiya.

"Y-you're actually asking u-us to j-j-join th-that?" Domon said in between his laughter

"Yeah! I mean, Hime, you're not actually forcing us to join that, are you?" said Recca as he put an arm over Yanagi's shoulders

"I am," Yanagi said, a sweet smile plastered on her face, "in fact… I already signed us up."

That's it. The gang immediately stopped laughing and froze. "NANI!?" everyone screamed in unison, even Tokiya.

"I'm serious," she answered, and put an index finger on her chin, "and I don't think anyone of you doesn't know anything about music, right? Domon-kun can play drums, Recca-kun can deal on the bass, Mikagami-sempai will be on the guitar and I will be on the keyboards."

"This must be a joke Yanagi-san," said Tokiya, "we were together the whole time and I didn't even see you go to the bulletin board and signed us up there."

"Uhmm.. I knew you guys are going to protest. So.. When I told Mikagami-sempai that I was to go to the restroom, I didn't. Instead, I signed us up there." Yanagi answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

_'Oh shit.'_ was written all over their faces. When Yanagi is up to something, she really will do everything. Even forcing her friends to do the most unlikely things.

"Hey," a feminine voice came from behind, "and what about me?" Fuuko asked as she pointed her index finger to herself.

"well, Fuuko-san," Yanagi started, her eyes hidden behind her bangs and grinned widely. Everyone forced a gulp in their throats and prayed that it Fuuko wouldn't be…

"You are our dear VOCALIST."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Phew! That was… hard, and short too. Anyway, chapter one's done! So... how was it minna-chan? Bad? Good? Oooh! Tell me through a review! Don't worry, I don't bite. XD Yeah, there it is… go ahead.. just click the 'Go' button! XD 


	2. Porcelain

Standard disclaimer applied.

My usual note: Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

Big thanks to _Symbiotic, __Hatoko__, 9081, __carmela here, __Eirist-chan,__ladylyris, __tintin, __mikaro,_and_ dah-chan_ for the reviews. XD You really made my day and inspired me to write more. This chapter is for you guys. XD

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues**

_Chapter Two_

"well, Fuuko-san," Yanagi started, her eyes hidden behind her bangs and grinned widely, "you are our dear VOCALIST."

Recca and Domon froze like stone.

"Hime, have you ever heard Fuuko sing!" asked the flame caster, one of his brows twitching.

Yanagi only shook her head innocently.

"Well it's a disaster," Domon added and ducked his head to evade the crushed soda can that Fuuko threw towards him. (**A/N:** surprising, isn't it? The very first time he evaded Fuuko's attack. LoL) "haven't Recca told you what happened in the Kirisawa household during Fuuko's onicchan's graduation party?"

_"__Mou__! Just one song, __onicchan__!" a thirteen year-old __Kirisawa__ Fuuko__ requested from an older purple haired man beside her._

_"No, __Fuuko__ and that's final," said the older __Kirisawa_

_"Fine!__ I'll tell mom about your detention before graduation," the older __Kirisawa__ froze _

_"Fine!__ You win!" then threw the __mic__ towards a grinning __Fuuko_

_"This is for you guys!" she said as she faced __Recca__ and __Domon__ who are__ both __currently drinking their glasses of juice._

"The music started playing and Fuuko started to sing. At first it was mellow and everything seemed to be good, but when she reached the chorus, she was like shouting every word that song has." Domon said as he ended his short story on how awful a singer Fuuko is.

"Mou! I told you guys, I saw a rodent when I reached the chorus." Fuuko defended with a pout.

"Tch! Rodent our ass!" Recca exclaimed as he stood up and walked towards the railings of the rooftop (**A/N:** im so sorry! I forgot to tell you guys that they're at the rooftop. XD) "as if you're afraid of rodents. At some point, I even think you eat those when there were no foods left in your fridge."

"That's it!" Fuuko angrily muttered then tackled Recca, forming a puff cloud in them as they exchange fists.

Tokiya just led out a sigh when his so-called 'primate' friends continued arguing on how bad a singer Fuuko is. _'__Things__ will__ never__ really, really__ change...' _he thought as he shook his head.

o(^^o)

"Are you really serious that you want us to join that _thing_?" Recca asked Yanagi as he try to fix the strings of his bass, "Hey Mikagami, can you please strum me a D?" he said to the ensui-weilder at the corner of the room.

"yes of course, Recca-kun. I wouldn't ask for my cousin's drum set and electric guitar or even write a song if I'm not serious with it, would I?" Yanagi answered, as she arranged the wires lying on the wooden floor. "Besides, we don't have anything to lose. Most of the students would be supporting us since we have Mikagami-sempai and Fuuko-chan here." Recca only muttered back an almost inaudible 'yeah you're right.' He really knows that he can't do anything to stop Yanagi's schemes.

There they are, inside Kagerou's traditional Japanese house (**A/N:** think! It's the house where Kagerou revealed to them that she is Recca's mom!) practicing for the first time as a band. Yanagi insisted that they name their band 'Hokage' so as not to make another name for their group. They agreed and decided to do their everyday practices at the Hanabishi household, but Kagerou insisted that they practice in her house on weekends so that they won't be bothering Recca's neighbors everyday.

"Fuuko-san," Yanagi called to Fuuko who was busy playing Dragon Ball Z on her silver PSP, "ready?"

Fuuko grunted as she put down her PSP to go over to microphone, as she muttered, "yeah."

"Ready guys?" Domon asked as he started beating his drumsticks together with proper timing.

_'Here goes nothing__..'_ Tokiya thought as he started playing his guitar, marking the start of the song. The room was filled with the short intro Tokiya played solo. He stopped when Fuuko didn't start singing on his cue.

"What the hell?" he irritably asked.

"Eh? Was that the cue already?" Fuuko innocently asked, and everyone, except her and Mikagami did the anime drop

"Now I know why there's what they call 'missing link' between primates and humans."

"I'm sorry, all right? I forgot!" Fuuko spat back, "Just do it again."

Tokiya harrumphed and started playing again. This time, he put on a short instrumental before giving her the cue. Fuuko looked at him as he simply nodded and she started to sing.

_you__ with the marble eyes _

_fragile with porcelain bones _

_you look at the stars and you wonder why _

_are you as hungry as__ I?_

_(yesterday's__ news but still new to me)_

Fuuko's nervous, Tokiya can tell. He immediately walked towards her (while playing, of course) and whispered 'Concentrate!' in her ear. Fuuko took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and continued singing.

_I__ can't see me _

_or someone __I__ used to be_

_I__ can't see you now _

_or someone who used to be you_

_are you__ someone new? _

_are__ you someone I__ used to know? _

_have__ you been there before? _

_have__ you seen me before?_

Fuuko's voice inhabited the whole room. Recca and Domon's eyes widened at the melodic voice by their own Fuuko. Yanagi just smiled at this, and continued playing the right keys on the keyboards as she sang second voice.

_when__ was the last time you cried_

_I__ think it was centuries ago _

_a stake through the heart _

_and sunrise will keep you away_

"Itadakimasu!"

Everyone indulged themselves with a special Japanese dish made by Kagerou.

"Okaa-san! This is good!" Recca said in between munches

"Shut up sea-monkey. Have some manners." Tokiya muttered as he stuffed a small amount of food in his mouth. Everyone was loud as usual, but there's something wrong. His eyes scanned the whole area until he saw a certain purple haired girl staring at her own food.

_I__ can't see me _

_or someone __I__ used to be _

_I__ can't see you now _

_or someone who used to be you _

"Oi Kirisawa," he called, Fuuko almost jumped from her seat by the sudden call of her name, "You know, if you want your food hot, the microwave is over there," then extended a finger towards the microwave oven. Fuuko only nodded and started eating her food. Tokiya cocked an eyebrow.

_are__ you someone new? _

_are__ you someone __I__ used to know? _

_have__ you been there before? _

_have__ you seen me before?_

"I had a wonderful day with you guys. I hope we could finish the second song next week," Yanagi cheerfully said, "Oyasumi nasai minna-chan!" she sheepishly said with a yawn, then went straight to her room.

"Oyasumi Hime!" Recca called out, as he brought his gaze back at the cards in his hand and placed it on the table, "Full House. Hah! I beat you again Domon! "

"Oooh! You cheater Recca!" Domon angrily said before tackling him and strangling him to death.

_I__ can't see me _

_(or someone __I__ used to be)_

_I__ can't see you now _

_or someone who used to be you _

_'Stupid bastards,' _Tokiya quietly slid the wooden door closed as he walked towards the nearby cliff. He has always loved walking at night. Peaceful and serene, add the gentle night breeze that engulfs the whole area at night. He was lost in his pool of thoughts that he didn't realize that he forgot to bring his jacket.

It is truly a chilly night.

_are__ you someone new? _

_are__ you someone __I__ used to know? _

He stopped on his tracks as he saw Fuuko standing at the edge of the cliff, with her hands up to her shoulder level.

_have__ you been there before? _

_have__ you seen me before?_

"Kirisawa," he called out, and before he knew it, Fuuko fell off the cliff.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay, that was a bit angsty. Or so I think…? -scratches cheek- anyways, the song in this fic, entitled 'Porcelain,' is sung by Paramita.

Anyways, so how did it go? Ooooh! I am so eager to hear (or rather read) your reviews! Will you please click the 'Go' button for me and submit a review? Puhlease…? -puppy eyes-


	3. MY Coffee

Standard disclaimer applied.

My usual note: Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

Big thanks to _9081_, _carmelahere__, Eirist-chan, __cLoTiHeArT__, malo__, Tin, __khryzlekawaii__, Nils, __mikaro__, Tears of a Phoenix Flower, __satomika__, yanagi-chyan__, Daisuke Akio,__Wija-chama _and _Miss __Hachigatsu __Kuroi_ for the reviews. :D you guys really inspired me to write more. XD

Uhmm.. sorry for the typos and stuff in chapter two.. I didn't really see it when I proofread it. -sweatdrop- anyway, so I revised it though the changes are not that visible.

Anyway, on with the third chapter!

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues**

_Chapter Three_

"Kirisawa," he called out, and before he knew it, Fuuko fell off the cliff.

Tokiya's eye widened in horror as he dashed out towards the cliff and went after her. By the time he realized it, he was falling in a never ending height.

o(^^o)

Tokiya's eyes flicked open. _'A dream?'_ he literally shook his head.

He found himself inside Kagerou's Japanese house, and currently lying on the sofa. His eyes carefully scanned the dark area and found two lone figures, Recca and Domon, both dead-drunk with cards scattered on the floor.

Taking a quick glance at his watch that only replied him with 4:10am, he led out a sigh. He, then, averted his eyes from his watch, and settled them towards the wooden ceiling, who in turn, stared back. He really wanted to close his eyes and fall back to sleep but his system isn't exactly going with him. It practically wants him to get up and grab himself a cup of coffee or two.

o(^^o)

He tossed and turned for a while, hoping that his system would get tired of craving for his favorite coffee, however it seemed like his body was the one who got tired of it.

_'So much for not bringing my own futon,'_ he thought, making a mental note to bring a futon the next time they practice at Kagerou's place, in case the gang decides to have a sleep over.

He lifted his wrist again for another time check. 4:25am. He groaned aloud in defeat and lazily dragged his own body towards the dark kitchen, a headache forming.

The dream about walking at night, that he can take. But dreaming about Fuuko? Oh no no no. Dreaming of that monkey would be the greatest nightmare _ever_. Making another shake of his head, his mind carefully analyzed the series of events that made him wonder why he dreamt of Fuuko falling off the cliff.

o(^^o)

A groan escaped his lips when he found out that there's no coffee around and his mug missing. Damn, he really needs it now. A dream about Kirisawa is driving him nuts. He didn't know why, and he didn't even bother to know.

He cursed as he continued his search for coffee around the kitchen, but still, to no avail. He could've sworn he left the kitchen last night with his coffee still there and now it's gone like a bubble popping in midair.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Tokiya walked out of the kitchen, silently praying that he just misplaced his favorite coffee when, suddenly, a faint singing voice entered his ears.

Being a skilled fighter as he is, he immediately found his way through the dark hallway and towards the source of the voice. He stood there, quietly listening to the voice when a very familiar aroma struck his nose.

He stood there, savoring the aroma of what he thinks he knows what.

His forehead furrowed as he quietly pondered on where he had smelled that sensational aroma. He gently closed his eyes, recalling any event with the aroma when realization kicked him. HARD. His eyes widened in shock as he slid the door open, and muttered a short, yet powerful curse with a single thought in mind...

_'MY coffee!'_

o(^^o)

Fuuko Kirisawa silently sighed as she strummed a few chords on the guitar she's playing. She has been awake since 2am and couldn't sleep since then, making her end up inside the rehearsal room, playing some songs.

She audibly cursed as the slightly old guitar went out of tune for the umpteenth time tonight. She knows that it is not hers, but she seriously has to fix that string. She turned the tuning keys slowly and carefully when…

THUD!

SNAP!

Fuuko's eyes widened in horror as she heard the door slid open and the string snap. She stared at the guitar more with horror like it mutated into something… extraordinary. But her shock didn't end here as she slowly shifted her gaze to the lone figure that opened the door.

Long legs. Long silver hair. Slim body. Pale skin. Baby blue eyes. _'Hmm... Looks exactly like Mi-__chan__...'_ she innocently thought as her eyes carefully examined her guest's physical features.

The new guy seemed to be in shock as well, but neither chose to speak. Fuuko's shaking hands slowly reached for the blue mug beside her chair and slowly drank a quarter of its contents.

Apparently, the man quickly got back to his senses as he stared at Fuuko, then at the guitar, then at the mug. _'Oh __Kami__... please don't let it be…'_

".God." was all Fuuko could mutter, when she got back to her senses. How stupid of her not to realize that that person staring back at her was the one and only...

…Mikagami Tokiya.

"O-Ohayou M-Mi-ch-chan," she nervously greeted, quite aware of the mess she did. Tokiya only glared back at her then continued staring at the mug she's holding.

Fuuko got conscious of this that she put the mug at her side, quite blocking his view of the said thing. She abruptly cleared her throat.

"So, what brings you here at this early hour, Mi-chan?" she asked, pasting a wide smile on her face. But the man just glared at her and was muttering something between clenched teeth.

"What?" she irritably asked as she drank the contents left from the mug, "I can't hear you well Mi-chan. Please speak louder. It's not as if you'll be waking them up if you speak."

But the muttering continued that she was forced to walk towards him, just to hear him say…

"That. was. MY. coffee. you. baka saru!"

o(^^o)

Tokiya just had the _best_ day of his life ever.

NOT.

First, he found_ his_ mug with _his_ coffee being drained down Fuuko's throat, _his_ guitar being used, still by Fuuko, found one of _his_ guitar strings snapped, thanks to Fuuko, and now he's driving home with… you guess… Fuuko.

Damn.

He could only mutter various curses under his breath for no one cares how _lucky_ he was today.

If only Yanagi didn't ask! If only Yanagi didn't ask him to drive Fuuko home, he would've left her then and there and shove land on her face.

Hah! That will surely give him peace. But no! No no no. it didn't happen, BIG thanks to his onee-san's doppelganger's puppy eyes.

The lone body in his passenger seat stirred which made him grunt.

_'Just take this as __Yanagi__-san's request. Take it as her request,'_ he repeatedly thought as if it's some kind of a mantra he should live with.

o(^^o)

Fuuko opened her left eye as she heard a grunt from the man beside her.

Tokiya never talked to her the whole day.

A frown crept up to her face when she realized what mess she did this morning.

She apologized to him lots of times already before and he accepted it. She wondered why this time he didn't accept it. Her train of thoughts was cut when his car came to an immediate stop. She peered at the window and realized that she's home.

An awkward silence embraced Tokiya and Fuuko when neither of them moved. Arriving to her own senses, Fuuko unbuckled her seatbelt and muttered a short 'thanks' and 'sorry' before opening her door .

Unfortunately, Tokiya was faster than her. He quickly caught her wrist and pulled her back into the car.

"Let's talk first," he said, his eyes not leaving hers. Tokiya didn't know why he said that. All he knows that they need to talk.

Fuuko tensed up a little but settled back to the passenger seat.

"I.." she started, "I think I should put my stuff inside first."

"Matte," he quickly said, his eyes glued back to the road as if he was thinking of something.

"Mi-chan?"

No response.

"Mi-chan?"

Still, no response.

"If you're not going to say anything, then I think I should—"

"I'll pick you up at 7pm here. We seriously need to talk," he quickly said, Fuuko only nodded, quite puzzled on what had just happened.

Tokiya restarted his engine and drove off by the time Fuuko went out of his car.

o(^^o)

"Kagerou-san! Take a look at this!" Yanagi exclaimed as she held out a piece of paper in her hand.

"What is it Yanagi dear?" the older woman inquired.

"Well, I found it here under the table while I was cleaning the room we used. I think it belongs to you?" Yanagi answered as she handed Kagerou the piece of paper she found.

Kagerou took the paper from Yanagi's hand and slowly read through what was written.

Pasting one of her motherly smile at her, Kagerou folded the paper and gently handed it to Yanagi.

"Oh dear. I hate to say this, but this isn't mine. I also don't know who wrote it but this one's nice. You guys could use this in the competition."

Yanagi's brows furrowed as her hands clung unto the folded piece of paper.

Tomorrow, she'll show it to Recca and to the others perhaps.

Whoever wrote it, she must find out.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So that's it for Chapter 3. Sorry for the late update. I was busy with school and I had to proofread this a million times! LoL! This is my favorite chapter so far... making Mi-chan act like a possessive kid with his favorite toy taken away from him. LoL

And oh yeah! The one who wrote the poem is…. a secret. -ducks to evade dozen tomatoes thrown- But a guess wouldn't hurt. XD who knows? I might reveal it in the next or later chapters. XD

Oooh! Please don't ever forget to drop me a review coz your reviews are my inspiration to write more… oooh there it is! Go on… click the 'Go' button and make me proud! Wahahahahahah!


	4. Moonlight

Standard disclaimer applied.

My usual note: Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

Hello guys! I'm back! Sorry for the late update. A week in Hong Kong made me all dazed and tired. LoL.

Anyway, big thanks to _Eirist-chan_,_ 9081_,_ mikaro_, _Nils_,_ satomika_,_ yanagi-chyan_,_ Daisuke Akio_,_ tin_, and_ cheng _for the reviews. XD

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues**

_Chapter __Four_

6:55pm. Kirisawa Household.

A young man, by the age of eighteen, stood outside the Kirisawa Household. He has a long silver mane that reaches up to his lower back. His ice blue eyes twinkled from the light reflected by the moon that perfectly matches his pale skin and cold demeanor.

Fearing that he might look like a stalker outside someone else's residence, he slowly strode a few steps towards the front porch to press the doorbell but a series of muffled yells and screams from the inside made him twitch an eyebrow up.

"YOU GET BACK HERE YOU TWERP!"

"Aiiyaaaaa! Okaa-chan! Heeeeelp!"

Then there came sounds of glass and porcelain shattering.

If only Mikagami Tokiya wasn't the cold type of person, he would have done the anime sweatdrop. Instead, he just pushed the doorbell and was welcomed by a woman, in her late 30's, motioned him to come inside.

o(^^o)

After half an hour of lecture from her mother, and another half an hour of verbal war and glaring contest with Tokiya, Fuuko found her self being dragged towards the nearest cake shop.

Of course, she took advantage of the fact that it is Tokiya's treat (much to her surprise!) by ordering three slices of various cakes and a cup of the cake shop's best frapuccino.

Flashing her perfect pearly whites as the waiter scribbled down her last order and walked away, she felt a scorching glare from the man opposite her.

"Don't glare at me like that. Serves you right for dragging me out of my home," said Fuuko, giving Tokiya a haughty look that matches his glare. Tokiya returned the gesture with a cock of an eyebrow. "I told you I was looking for something. And I can't find it anywhere. I even think it's lost."

"Yeah right. Like chasing Ganko-chan around and breaking all those china would help you find whatever it is you're looking for," he muttered dryly, "Common sense, Kirisawa. Why would you go looking for something that you can see?"

Fuuko scowled.

"I'm going straight to the point, monkey. So I want you to listen very ca—"

"Here are your orders, ma'am and sir! One cream cheese cake, one carrot cake, one Oreo cheese cake, and two frappucinos," said the waiter as he placed their ordered foods on top of their table.

Tokiya mouth gaped, half surprised and half perplexed on how the heck could they prepare such meal in a very short span of time!

"Ahh! Itadakima… oh… right." Fuuko said as she could feel another glare from Tokiya, "what were you saying again?"

There was a slight hint of hesitation in his eyes, Fuuko noticed. But Tokiya merely shrugged it away.

"I want you to do me a favor."

Fuuko's eye widened. Did she hear him right? The ever-so-famous Mikagami Tokiya is asking her a favor?

She shot him a skeptical look and cocked one of her well defined and shaped eyebrows at him.

"Yes, Kirisawa. I am _actually_ asking you a favor," Tokiya smirked, as if he had read her mind correctly, "and I'm only doing this once so comply with me."

Without so much ado, he dug his hands into his shirt pocket and slid a folded piece of paper "I want you to give this to Yanagi-san, but don't you ever tell her it's from me."

"What is this, Mi-chan?" Fuuko asked as she unfolded the sheet of paper.

"A poem. Good enough to be one of our lineups." he replied, looking outside. "I wrote it."

"Gee Mi-chan! Why don't you just give it to her personally?" said Fuuko with a pout.

Fuuko caught sight of the slight blush that formed in Tokiya's pale cheeks.

_'He like__d__ her that much, huh?'_ Fuuko thought with a slight frown in her face.

Of course she couldn't help, but feel a bit jealous. Everyone in the Hokage seems to like Yanagi. Recca voluntarily made Yanagi his hime without even beating the crap out of him, while Tokiya and Koganei joined the Hokage just to save her from Kori Moran's grasp.

What is it that Yanagi has that she just couldn't have?

She shook her head in frustration. No way is she going to think of her friend that way again! Sighing inwardly, she proceeded in reading the paper, her brows almost meeting at the middle.

o(^^o)

"Mi-chan, are you sure about this?" Fuuko annoyingly asked as she cocked an eyebrow at Tokiya.

"Yes."

"Are you really sure?"

"I'm pretty much sure about it."

"Are you really, really sure about this, Mi-chan?"

Multiple veins started popping around Tokiya's perfect head. He could even feel another headache forming.

"Monkey instincts, isn't it Kirisawa? That your monkey brain cannot even comprehend a simple three-letter word."

"I know. But… Are you really, really, REALLY sure about this Mi—"

"Don't start it Kirisawa. You have been pestering me since—" Tokiya was cut off with his words as Fuuko shoved the paper to his face.

Tokiya's eyes carefully scanned the paper.

Yes, it was a paper with words written on it, but what was written is…

…his apartment bill.

Tokiya's mouth gaped open. He didn't expect something like this to happen… _ever_.

"My.. didn't think that Mikagami Tokiya could ever do bloopers such as this." Fuuko let out a chuckle, waving the piece of paper which Tokiya immediately snatched.

He could've sworn he put it in his pocket before he left. He could've sworn that he even read it this morning when they were still in Kagerou's place.

…or did he?

If only he doesn't have self-composure and proper manners, he might have banged his head on their table _hard_, and kill anyone his eyes would lay on.

Fuuko chuckled at her former comrade's reaction. _'My… this isn't something you see__ everyday__.'_ With much heed to pester her former comrade more, she teased him, asking what kind of song it would be if they will be putting his apartment bill on their lineup.

Tokiya only scowled at her childish antics as he proceeded to drinking his frapuccino and munching one of Fuuko's cakes.

o(^^o)

"Ne, Mi-chan.." Fuuko said, gaining the attention of her sempai, "About your coffee..."

Tokiya remained silent. He already saw this coming.

"I mean, it's your favorite brand, right? And I…"

"It's all right. Not like I couldn't buy a new one anyway," he shrugged.

Silence engulfed the pair as they walked towards the street of their hometown. Both seemed lost in their own train of thoughts.

Before they realized it, Fuuko shivered to the night breeze.

"Here." Tokiya muttered as he extended his hand, his expensive Armani coat hanging on it.

Fuuko could only mutter a short 'thanks' to the former ensui wielder as she took the coat from his pale hand.

Silence, once again, found its way and engulfed the pair as they continued walking. It's an awkward silence, but neither one of them wanted to break it.

With the Kirisawa household on sight, Fuuko abruptly held on to Tokiya's wrist and tugged it gently.

"Can we go to your place first instead?" she pleaded. Tokiya looked at her with questioning eyes, "I just need someone to talk to."

Tokiya stared at her, as if her words are still processing in his mind.

"Mou! Stop staring at me like that, Mi-chan!" she said, playfully punching his arm.

Tokiya winced a little. We're talking about Kirisawa Fuuko here, punching his arm. No wonder it hurts.

After sending another smug glare at her, he turned his heel and walked away.

"M-Mi-chan! Where are you going?" she kind of yelled at him

"I thought you wanna stop by my place first?" he said with a smirk and continued walking.

"Mou! Chotto matte yo!" she said as she walked faster to catch up.

o(^^o)

"Wow. Such a huge apartment for a lone ice block," Fuuko said with awe as her eyes scanned Tokiya's apartment.

"If I'm not mistaken, your reason for being here is that you want someone to talk to, not to pester me from morning 'til night." Tokiya sardonically said as he plopped his body on the sofa.

"My, my, Mi-chan… can you just please be, at least, a little considerate with your guest? It's not as if I'm going to break anything."

"Hmph."

With that, Fuuko started roaming around his apartment 'til she stopped by a huge thing covered by an old cloth.

"Ne, Mi-chan… What's this huge thing covered with this old cloth over here?" she said as she extended a finger towards the huge thing though she knows Tokiya cannot see it.

"Ugh. Don't you ever touch that Kirisawa!" he yelled from the living room.

"Oh really? But I think I heard it calling for Fuuko-chan's touch!" she said excitedly as she pulled out the old cloth.

Fuuko's eyes widened as the material hidden began revealing itself right in front of her.

o(^^o)

Tokiya immediately stood up and ran towards Fuuko, but knew it was too late when he heard a piano playing.

He found Fuuko playing a nursery rhyme on a lone white grand piano that he knew he could never ever play again.

"It's Mifu—"

"My mother used to play the piano and sang lullabies until I fall off to sleep," she shared, her gaze not leaving the piano, "she would sing softly in my ear, carry me back to my room, and tuck me beneath the sheets.

Tokiya stood behind her, and noticed the crack on her voice.

Tokiya watched her silently as her hands dropped to her sides, her head slightly faltering.

"That was before my _mother_ died."

Tokiya's brows furrowed. Her mother? Dead? Howcome..? Numerous questions started filling up Tokiya's mind. For once, his mind couldn't digest her words.

"You might be wondering what the hell I'm talking about, right Mi-chan?" Fuuko made a weak laugh, but Tokiya is convinced that it was more of a forced one, "Well you see Mi-chan, the woman you met just a few hours ago was my father's second wife. Our real mom died thirteen years ago."

A short gasp was heard suddenly behind her.

"Surprised, aren't you?" Tokiya remained silent as he let Fuuko pour her heart out. "Exactly a year after okaa-chan died, ottou-chan brought a new woman in our home. Said that she's just his friend, a month later she came back with all of her stuff. A few days after, we found out that they got married."

Tokiya remained silent though he really wanted to slit Fuuko's throat for banging his sister's piano.

"Heck! She was a kind of woman that people would definitely love. She has the looks, the wit, and the intelligence. But at some point, onicchan and I cannot seem to find a way to accept her. I mean… there's nothing to hate about her. She treats us like her own and even cares for us like we're her treasure, but we kept on pushing her away. And now that… now that we have just accepted her, ottou-chan…"

And for the first time in her high school years, Fuuko Kirisawa broke down and cried.

"Now ottou-chan's filing a divorce with her!"

For the very first time in his whole life, Tokiya found himself lost for words. At some point, he wanted to comfort her but couldn't find any comforting words to say.

To hell with sadness.

Yes, what he had eight years ago may be worse than what his former comrade experiencing right now, but he thought that this isn't just right. The bubbly tomboy of the gang is currently having one of her rare emotional breakdown and he surely knows that if this will go on, they might lose her.

Gathering up all his strength, he did what he knows that he cannot even do even in his second life and that is…

… to hug her.

_Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me  
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee  
Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day  
Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away!_

Fuuko's crying went into a halt when she heard a voice singing. Her gaze went up to the figure holding her.

_Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song  
__List while I woo thee with soft melody_

Her mouth gaped open, lost for words as she realized that the soft baritone voice was from no other than Mikagami Tokiya himself.

_Gone are the cares of life's busy throng  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!_

"What?" he gently asked, Fuuko's still staring at him, startled. He let out a soft chuckle and said, "Mifuyu –neesan used to sing that for me when I was young. Together with this piano,"

_Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea  
Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelie  
Over the streamlet vapors are borne  
Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn._

Tokiya rearranged Fuuko and himself, making Fuuko lean on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. He placed his hands on the piano and started playing the accompaniment of the song.

_Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart  
E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea  
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!_

The moonlight enveloped the couple, who both seemed to be lost in their own world together.

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** So there goes the fourth chapter. I hope your questions about Fuuko's odd behavior had been answered here. -

Oh by the way, the song at the end of this chapter is a nursery rhyme entitled 'Beautiful Dreamer.'

Please do enlighten me with your reviews! Go on… click the 'Go' button over there:D

See yah on the next chapter guys:D


	5. Detention

Standard disclaimer applied.

My usual note: Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

Aiyaaa! I've never thought I'd be able to continue this, provided that I was gone for a year and a half! I guess the nagging feeling of having something unfinished won within me... so here it is! I'm back to business. :D

Anyway, big thanks to _Eirist_,_ 9081_,_ mikaro_, _Nils_,_ satomika_,_ yanagi-chyan_,_ khryzle-chan_,_winoa fuuko huel 13_, _Dylan_, _Blackrose2005_, _Daisuke Akio_,_ tin_, _x.S a n c t u a r y_ and_Bluementrit_for the reviews. XD you don't know how you guys made me feel when I went back to . :)

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues**

_Chapter Five_

"SHIT!"

All heads quickly turned to the owner of the locker filled with white envelopes and hearts seals, and the source of the loud curse. Well, some are already looking at the source, especially on her prominent butt that is unintentionally displayed provided with her position.

"Darn it. Darn these letters for flooding my locker," Fuuko cursed as she scrambled for her notebook over the pile of letters from her unwanted fans. "Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" she endlessly muttered until a familiar green notebook was gently shoved to her face. Before she could even touch it, the notebook was jerked back to her knight shining armor. Or maybe not.

"If you really enjoy being watched by almost the whole male population of this school, then I'd rather not bring this back to you," Tokiya said, annoyance obviously painted on his face. Before she could even argue, Tokiya extended a finger and pointed to the hungry crowd behind her.

And as expected, Fuuko ended up inside the detention room.

o(^^o)

5:28pm. Detention Hall.

Domon couldn't suppress his yawn anymore. It has always been like this. Him, inside the detention hall, for sleeping in class.

Beside him?

Well, you guess. Reccca Hanabishi. Reason? For accidentally setting the Faculty Room on fire due to his firecrackers.

Beside him?

Fuuko Kirisawa. Reason? Beating the pulp out of more than fifteen fan boys.

Fuuko's forehead creased. She has been playing the same music over and over and up until now she hasn't come up with a good tune.

"Ugh. How luckier can we get? 50 percent of the Hokage are in here. Hime must be really worried right now." Recca complained.

"50 percent? You must be kidding me Recca." Domon replied, slamming his hand on the table "You, me, and our ear Fuuko-chan are in here so that must be..." now counting with his fingers, "30 percent! Right! 30 percent!"

"Baka! It's 50! How can it be 30 if half of us are in here! Half equals 50 percent!" Recca argued

"No! 30! Three of us are in here. So that makes it 30 percent!" Domon spat back.

"50!"

"No! 30!"

"50!"

"30!"

"WILL YOU CUT IF OFF YOU MORONS! I'm trying to concentrate here!" yelled Fuuko, who is currently busy reading their third song, and listening to her iPod. "and oh. If you didn't know, it's 60 percent. We are five in the band which makes it a hundred percent. One of us will be equal to twenty. There are three of us here, so that makes it sixty."

Recca and Domon only answered with an inaudible 'Oh' and amused expressions.

"See! I'm nearer to it! I said fifty!"

"No! I'm nearer! I said thirty, you'd only multiply it by two!"

"No! I am nearer to it!"

"No! Me!"

"If you two wouldn't cut it out, Yanagi-chan would be more worried than she is right now," came from the fourth presence they didn't notice.

Recca cocked an eyebrow.

"What brings you here, Mikagami? I thought you have a meeting with Hime?"

"I'm waiting for the she-monkey," Tokiya answered flatly, earning mischievous grins from the two monk... oh I mean, two boys.

"My, my, my! Aren't the two of them getting closer and closer?" Recca mischievously said to Domon, who was grinning like an idiot too.

"When did that start again? Oh. I know! The very first practice in Kagerou's place," the oni replied.

"So, tell us," Recca said as he put his arms across his chest, Domon doing the same, "when did you two... you know?"

Tokiya couldn't help but grunt. Since when did those two ever been nosy? Oh wait. They really were nosy in the first place.

"Just shut the hell up, you two." came the voice of the only female in the room. Fuuko really looked annoyed to the pit, "Ikkemashou, Mi-chan," she added, as she gathered all of her stuff and went out of the room.

Well, Tokiya, being out of character, just nodded and followed immediately. The two monkeys left only looked at each other with a rather confused expression.

o(^^o)

"Recca-kun!"

Recca's big head shot up as he heard the voice of his wonderful and ever lovely hime.

"Recca-kun!" Yanagi called, as she approached her ninja, who stopped on his tracks along with Domon and waited for her. "Recca-kun! Thank God, I found you. I've been looking for you all around school."

"Are you all right hime?" was all he could ask. He didn't know why his hime came looking for him as if it is something really urgent when she could just practically call him up.

..or can she?

"Yes, I've been calling you a thousand times already but it seems that you left your phone somewhere else." Yanagi took out a phone Recca know too well and hand it to him. "Looks like you were inside the Detention Hall again, young man."

Reccan winced at the tone Yanagi used on him.

"By the way, I wanted to talk to you," she said, bringing back the smile to her face. "I found a nicely written poem inside the band room last week," Recca took a peek on what Yanagi was taking out of her bag, "and was contemplating whether you guys would want it to be used for the battle of the bands."

Recca opened the folded piece of paper and read through it, with Domon's head peering behind his back, reading as well.

'_This hand-writing looks really familiar.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** Bash me for the lame chapter, it'll be all right. I've been changing plots over the past few days I've written this for I lost my premade chapters due to some virus. *cries*

Anyway, Recca seem too know who wrote it.. or does he? :D

Please do enlighten me with your reviews! Go on… click the 'Review this Story/Chapter' thingy over there. :D

See yah on the next chapter guys :D


	6. Best Friend

Standard disclaimer applied.

My usual note: Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

Big THANKS to all who read and dropped a review here and on my other fic, Rooftop. :) Thanks for the undying support my fellow ToFuu worshippers. :D

Anyway, here 's the sixth instalment of Rhythm and Blues! Enjoy! :)

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues**

_Chapter 6_

Tokiya can't help but heave a sigh.

It has been two hours, twenty-eight minutes, and about fifty-six seconds since they started their _private_ practice, as Fuuko puts it. They agreed to meet when classes are over and practice the music and lyrics Yanagi has given them the other week.

Apparently, today is their first day and Tokiya's patience is already being put to the test.

If only this isn't Yanagi's idea. If only this isn't their project for the Student Council. If only if it isn't the moronic purple-headed monkey that he has to deal with for their so-called 'band.'

Tokiya could only mentally bang himself on the wall for God-knows-how-often for being involved in all these.

"Are you sulking, Mi-chan?" came the voice of his personally labeled 'she-monkey' in between munches, "you know, if you're going to serve me this kind of food every day, I really wouldn't mind practicing until the wee hours of night."

"If you're just going to eat here all night, I wouldn't mind kicking you out right now," came his immediately retort.

"Boy, you are still the grumpy ice-man we know," she mumbled thoughtfully, and slowly whispered, "I wonder how heat and ice go with you. I mean... grumpiness and coldness, y'know."

Tokiya only shot her one of his famous ice cold glares before proceeding to their now 'music room.' (Clue: Mifuyu's piano room on Chapter 4)

'_Sheesh. Mi-chan never changed. Always being reserved.'_ Fuuko thought as she fingered the piece of paper she's holding. Reading it carefully this time, a soft hum escaped her lips until she heard music complimenting her tune.

'_That's it!' _she thought, drinking her glass of water in one big gulp before running towards the music room.

o(^^o)

"So what do we have here now?" asked Recca scanned the paper Fuuko handed him which seemed to be the chords he'll be playing, "you changed Yanagi's pre-made chords?"

Fuuko, stopping to her tracks, just gave him a shrug and pointed to Tokiya.

"Oh no, Recca-kun. I gave them my permission to change the whole music if they came up with something better," said Yanagi, who was helping Fuuko distribute the music sheets.

Massaging the new lump in his head after winking at Fuuko, Domon's eyes widened like saucers just in time when Yanagi's phone suddenly came ringing and she has to go out for a while.

"Oi Domon, doshite?" Recca asked as he peered behind the oni's back.

"T-th-this!" Domon said, as he raised the music sheet he's holding.

"Oooookaaaaaay. I can barely see that it's the music sheet we're about to play," Recca said, scratching his head, "So what's the deal?"

Domon paled, while Recca shot him an inquiring look. While Fuuko is... Fuuko, the grape-head monkey.

"Oh I know," Tokiya interrupted, a smirk playing across his lips, "the gorilla doesn't know how to read notes, he can only beat the crap out of the drum," finishing his remark with a 'tch tch tch' while muttering to himself 'what an idiot.'

Domon could only put his head down in shame. As Recca comforted him, telling him it'll be okay as long as he can put the right beat, Yanagi came running across the room, her face, too, paler than usual.

"G-guys," she started, sweat dropping from her forehead, a result from running. All heads turned to her as she slowly collected her thoughts. "Mikagami-sempai and I lost our jobs as coordinators for the Battle of the Bands for participating," her head, now down.

Fuuko, being the cheery girl she is, immediately comforted her, "Don't worry much about it, Yanagi-chan. At least you didn't lose your positions in the council, ne Mi-chan?" Tokiya flinched at the childish nickname, sending piercing glares to Fuuko.

"That's not all," Yanagi continued, "Apparently, Ichigawa-sensei told me that Nozomu-sempai took over the project, and he moved the first screening from next week to this weekend."

"This weekend already?" Recca interrupted, "Yoshi! Better get going now, ne?"

"HAI!"

o(^^o)

The sound of fallen drumsticks filled the room as Domon Ishijima wiped the sweat on his forehead.

'_Just a few more,'_ he thought as he picked the drumsticks up and stared again on the screen of his laptop. Thank Kami for technology these days; he managed to find a free online tutorial for reading notes for the drums.

Trying to listen carefully if he's playing the right notes, Domon readjusted the bolts of the cymbal and continued playing; completely oblivious to the fact that Fuuko is silently watching him. He only started noticing her presence when he suddenly heard her applaud.

"Improving, I see." said the ex-Fuujin wielder as she took a seat on one of the huge subwoofers in the room. Domon could only mutter an almost inaudible thanks as he turned his head away from her, hiding the blush creeping on his face.

"I heard someone playing the drums so I decided to check it out," she suddenly said, as if being asked what brought her there, "besides, Recca's looking for you."

"Sou da ne," he replied, still not looking at her.

Silenced engulfed the two as Domon silently collected his thoughts while Fuuko busied herself with her PSP.

"Ne, Fuuko-chan," he finally spoke, earning a sudden look from the purple-headed lass. "Do you think I can make it?"

"Hmm..? Elaborate."

As if mustering all his courage, Domon finally started sharing, "I mean, this," he weakly pointed to the drum set, "I know I don't know how to play it with notes, more I don't know how to even read notes."

Hearing no reply from his companion, Domon finally faced Fuuko only to be surprised that she's still playing with her PSP, as if paying no attention to him.

Domon felt his chest tighten, but chose not to show it. Tearing his gaze away from the ex-Fuujin wielder, he straightened himself up and was about to kick the bass drum when Fuuko finally spoke.

"You know what. You're such a dumbass," she said, putting down the PSP. "You're being too sensitive over nonsensical things." Domon could only stare at her, "So what if you can't read notes? What's more important is you hit it like a pro!"

Domon gaped at her words when it finally hit him.

"You don't need to prove Mi-chan that you can read notes. We all know that it's just his way of keeping up with us 'primates,' as he calls it. But then, it doesn't mean that he wants you out of this," picking up Tokiya's new acoustic guitar, she strummed a G, making Domon more confused.

Getting annoyed at that stupid look Domon's giving her, she spat back a 'WHAT?' Domon only shook his head in reply.

"Thanks, Fuuko-chan. You're the bestest best friend I've ever had."

Smirking at his words, Fuuko replied, "make it you're sexiest bestest best friend."

And their laughter filled the room followed by the music produced by the guitar and the drums.

Oblivious to their surroundings, a man stood outside the room, eavesdropping, hands balled into fists.

o(^^o)

Tokiya Mikagami stood outside the band room, trying to calm himself down. He couldn't decipher the tension he suddenly felt when he heard the two primates' joint laughter. He kept telling himself that he's just pissed because Fuuko used his new guitar without his permission.

Ha! As if he'll lend it to her anyway.

Feeling another headache forming, he strode out to the backyard. Walking around with only the moonlight illuminating the dark path, Tokiya suddenly remembered the dream he had when he last went to this place.

It was about Fuuko, falling off the cliff, and him being unable to save her. He didn't know why he suddenly dreamt of her that way, neither did he know why after their exclusive encounter in his apartment, he suddenly couldn't stop thinking about her, worse, dreaming about her. He felt as if he's getting too clingy, too attached.

Is he falling? No, that couldn't be it. But what about the immediate anger he felt when he saw her with Domon inside the band room? It has to be jealousy, right? But then, he couldn't be jealous. He mustn't.

'_I'm human, she's a primate. Humans don't fall for their pets,'_ said his thoughts, making him heave a sigh out of exasperation.

"Sempai?"

Stopping in his tracks, he slowly faced the uninvited guest. A smiling girl, holding two mugs of what he thinks is coffee.

"Yanagi-san," he acknowledged, as he stretched out his hand for the second mug.

And oh, I must have missed the fact that it's his favorite brand.

o(^^o)

"Oh my. So you honestly think you like her?" said Yanagi, followed by soft chuckles. Glancing at her now empty cup, she said with a smile, "I'm glad you're finally warming up, Mikagami-sempai."

"Aa," was all he could mutter as he gazed up on the pale moon.

He wondered why he felt so secure whenever he's with Yanagi. Other than the fact that she's an almost exact replica of her late sister, he thought there's something more. He can easily open up to her, just like now, which he kinda regrets, if not for the teasing chuckles she's giving him.

Love? No, it can't be. It would be incest if he'd fall for his sister's look alike. Then what could it be?

"Anou.. sempai," called his companion, "I better get going before Recca-kun freaks out. It's kinda late and I don't want him to worry like the last time."

Tokiya could only nod in reply. Yes, he clearly remembered that fateful night during the UBS which caused the big conflict in the Hokage.

Hearing Yanagi's soft farewell, he continued wondering what he felt for the former healer. His mind searched for the right words until he remembered the conversation between his friends that lead him to this.

Friends.

That's what they are to him, and Yanagi is his best friend. That, he can assure himself.

A smile slowly crept up to his face as he softly muttered his thanks to his sister.

* * *

**Author's Note/s: **So that's Chapter 6 for all of you. :) I just hope I didn't bore you to death, or confused you much. _; I'm trying my best to update as soon as possible, and I think this one's long enough for the sixth instalment of Rhythm and Blues. :D

The next chapter will have more ToFuu fluff. :D I promise! So don't fret, and drop me a review. You will, will you? :D Go on, just click the 'Review this story / chapter' link and make other people, especially me, happy! -^_^-

See you on the next chapter! Tata for now~! :D


	7. Dream On

Standard disclaimer applied.

My usual note: Flashbacks and thoughts are _italicized_. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

Hello guys! :D OMFG, I've never thought I'll be back again after 180123012302837087 years! Hahaha Kidding aside, I was really busy with all school stuff. And yes, I've graduated last year and started Med School but I have to withdraw because I got accepted in a university here in Canada. So yes, as you have guessed, I moved out of my home country. Plus, late last year my computer died on me so most of my files were lost, including the supposedly 7th instalment of this fic. T_T

By the way, I've noticed that my 'dividers' were gone so I kinda went through all chapters just to put it back up. However, I didn't bother re-reading all of it so it remained 'untouched' in a way that no changes have been made to the story itself.

Anyway, big thanks to _Eirist _and_ khryzle-chan_ for inspiring me to write again, and to ALL those who reviewed as well. I may not be able to enumerate all of you, but you should know that you guys all inspired me to start writing again and I so thank you for it. :)

So here's the 7th instalment! I'm dedicating this to my friend, to whom I should've given this as a birthday present last year. I let him beta read this one as payment for the late update, so if there are still errors in spelling and grammar, we're both at fault. XD haha. Enjoy~ :3

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues**

_Chapter 7_

1:23pm. Backstage of the school auditorium.

"Will you cut it out, Yanagi?" said a very irritated Fuuko.

Yanagi stopped on her tracks, settled herself beside Domon and started tapping her foot out of nervousness.

Recca's eyes roamed around the corridor. Sure, it was clean; however, it was filled with students who also participated on the Battle of the Bands which will be held in a month and a half. Aside from the non-stop tapping of Yanagi's foot, different music from various guitars filled his ears as some took their time, having their last minute practice before their turn.

"Hokage? You're next!" the student PA, Takeuchi, called.

"Yoshi! Minna, time to rock and roll!" Recca said, one fist in the air.

"Rock and roll your ass," came Fuuko's reply as she walked past him, shortly followed by Tokiya and the others.

'_Sure, everyone is nervous, ne?'_ He couldn't help but smile at the thought as he followed them.

o(^^o)

"Okay, so Hokage? Show us what you got," said Suzuki-sensei after reading all details regarding the band.

Finally, the whole auditorium was filled with the hitting of the drums, courtesy of Domon Ishijima, followed by Yanagi's keyboards and Tokiya's lone guitar. Soon enough it was followed by Recca's bass guitar. Fuuko stood stoically as she held the mic stand, her head down until her cue was given by the sound of Domon's cymbals.

_Every time that I look in the mirror  
All these lines on my face gettin' clearer  
The past is gone  
It went by like dust to dawn  
Isn't that the way  
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay_

Fuuko's voice reverberated throughout the whole auditorium as the judges curiously watched her. Seeing the judges' eyes full of interest, Recca can't help but play his bass guitar with a triumphant smile on his face.

_I know what nobody knows  
Where it comes and where it goes  
I know it's everybody's sin  
You got to lose to know how to win _

As the former fighters went on playing their song, the judges started scribbling on their judges sheet which made Fuuko a bit more nervous.

_Half my life is in books written pages  
Live and learn from fools and from sages  
You know it's true  
All the things come back to you_

Stealing a glance from her bandmates who responded with nods and grins, Fuuko knew they were all saying the same thing: keep on going.

And she did.

_Sing with me, sing for the years  
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away_

As Fuuko started singing the chorus, people started swarming inside the auditorium, most of them staring at them with awe, the others trying to get more ideas from them. Well of course, how could we ever miss the never-ending squeals from Tokiya's ever-so lovingly fan club and the Fuuko's raging-male-hormones fan club.

_Sing with me, sing for the years  
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away  
_

"YATTA!" Recca shouted, a huge grin plastered on his face. "I knew we'd nail that screening!"

"I agree! Did you see all those people! They kept swarming in as if we're really performing it live!" Domon added, "Those people kept screaming out my name! Like, 'Domon-sama you're so sexy!' 'Domon-sama you're so hot!' 'You rock my world Domon-sama!'"

The group fell silent.

Before he could even utter a "What?" to his companions, Domon was sent flying to the heavens.

_Dream on, dream on  
Dream yourself a dream come true  
Dream on, dream on  
Dream until your dream come true  
Dream on, dream on, dream on..._

"Yay, I'm so proud of us!" Yanagi squealed, as the waiter put down their food on the table.

As expected, the gang passed the first screening without even breaking a sweat. They earned a great standing ovation from the judges, as well as the other bands who watched them. To celebrate their so-called 'success,' they settled in a small Italian café where they used to hang out whenever the rooftop's occupied.

_Sing with me, sing for the years  
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away_

"See you guys tomorrow!"

And with a wave of goodbye, the gang parted their ways home… well except for Fuuko and Tokiya who practically live a few blocks away from each other.

Silence became their third companion as both of them walked in silence, each occupied with their own train of thoughts. Fuuko's eyes scanned the area as they walk, noticing how the leaves have started turning to shades of yellow and red.

'_Aah. Autumn is definitely around the corner now.'_ she thought. Her eyes suddenly caught glimpse of the penguin slide she used to play on. It is now filled with dried leaves, in which the kids kept on kicking and throwing up in the air. A soft smile crept on her lips as she slowly painted the scene in front of her mentally.

Shifting her gaze to the man beside her, Fuuko suddenly wondered how different it would be if Mi-chan had a normal past, living family and a happy life.

Would he be smiling like them? Would he be fooling around with them? Would he be less of a smart-ass like he is right now? Would he have cut his hair shorter? Would he be dating anyone? Would he even love h

"You know it's impolite to stare."

Fuuko broke away from her thoughts and stared at Tokiya with eyes like saucers before abruptly shifting her gaze to her moving feet. Tokiya only cocked an eyebrow in reply.

'_What the hell was I just thinking?'_ Fuuko wondered as she slowly felt her cheeks warming. How could she even thought of Tokiya loving *ahem* her? _'I must be going crazy now.'_

"Hey, we're here." she heard him called before slamming gently on his stoic back.

Muttering a soft 'sorry' to her now pissed companion, Fuuko averted her gaze from the asphalt pavement to her surroundings. Indeed, she's back home. She once again snapped out her trance as she saw a lone figure coming to their direction. A lone figure in the form of her mother… No, scratch that her stepmother.

"Ah, Mikagami-san. Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too, Kirisawa-sama." came the iceblock's reply. After a short exchange of compliments, Mrs. Kirisawa politely excused herself as she went inside, leaving the two of them alone once again. Sensing another awkward silence coming, Fuuko initiated the talk.

"So… tomorrow at your place?" the purple-head said in inquiry, in which a nod came in reply. "See you then," she muttered as she turned her heel and headed for the door.

But something made her turn abruptly, her eyes and mouth as big as saucers.

As she heard her mother called for her as she headed for the door, her senses told her that Tokiya also muttered _something_ to her.

Did she hear him right? She asked herself.

Shaking the thought out of her head, she once again faced the other side and opened the door to their own household with only one thing on her mind.

'_Dream on, Kirisawa Fuuko. Dream on.'_

* * *

**Author's Note/s: **and I think I once again ended this in a cliffie. –dodges tomatoes- Sorry guys, as much as I wanted to reveal what Mi-chan said, I can't seem to write it properly. T_T I hope I didn't waste a good five or ten minutes of your time. I know this chapter was lame, so much for my own resurrection. XD I know I promised that there will be more ToFuu fluff in this chapter but I can't help but postponed it to a more _interesting_ part of the story –smugs- BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

Oh by the way, the song is entitled 'Dream On' by Aerosmith. It's a real one helluvah classic rock (?) song and I just thought of making it one of their line-ups just to make sense with what's happening with the story. :D

Anyway, please don't forget to drop a review. I would really appreciate it if you do. Go on, just click the "Review this Chapter" link below and make other people, especially me, happy! -^_^-

See you on the next chapter! Tata for now~! :D


	8. I Live My Life For You

Standard disclaimer in effect.

My usual note: Flashbacks, thoughts, and song lyrics are _italicized_. Song lyrics are centered. Conversations are separated in paragraphs, depending on the person talking.

A big shout out to everyone! ^_^ I know, I know. I've been away from fandom for over two years and have just recently come back. I don't even know where my story is leading to that I had this fic right from the very beginning to be able to think of another chapter to write. -_- I've also noticed a whole lot of typos and grammatical errors in all chapters and will fix them as soon as I find time.

And oh! Big thanks to all the FoR writers out there, especially the ToFuunatics (you know who you are *wink wink*) for inspiring me to write again. Truth be told, I just started reading fics again one day and noticed that there hasn't been much activity in the FoR section here. Finding myself as one of the culprits, I started racking my brains out for ideas. I was gonna make a Valentine's Day special (or even a White Day special) but the idea was flushed down the drain by the time I was writing. -_-"

Anyways, before I start babbling again, here's the long awaited 8th installment of Rhythm and Blues! Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Rhythm and Blues **

_Chapter Eight_

"Bah, I'm bored." Fuuko said as she stretched herself on the couch, yawning at the same time. "I've been here since noon and the others still haven't shown up yet."

However, a scribbling noise was the only reply she got.

"Ne, Recca" she called, "let's just play videogames. I'm dying of boredom here."

Once again, scribbling noises answered her.

Feeling a little irritated, she peered over Recca's shoulder to look at what the former flame-caster was doing. "What is this?" she asked, as she pulled out the sheet of paper Recca was writing on.

"Hey, watch it!" Recca exclaimed as he snatched the paper back. Strumming another chord on his guitar, he continued scribbling. Unsatisfied, he strummed another chord, and another, and another.

Fuuko felt her eyebrows rise.

The last time Recca felt this worked up was when he asked Yanagi out, officially. Sure, they were together right from the very moment Recca proclaimed himself as Yanagi's ninja, but the two have never uttered a word regarding their relationship. About a month or two post- Tendou Jigoku, Recca finally mustered all his courage and asked Yanagi to be his official girlfriend.

Despite the rest of the Hokage's assurance that Yanagi will agree to his proposal, Recca still ended up working himself up, trying to his best to make the day as special as day immemorial.

"Ne, Recca," Fuuko called, curiosity etched on her face. "This song that you're trying to compose," she peered over the sheet in front her and read it thoroughly, "are you going to propose this as one of our line ups?"

Recca placed his guitar down. "Honestly," he shifted his gaze from Fuuko to the lone sheet in front of him, "No."

"Then why are you so worked up with this song?"

Recca suddenly blushed like a tomato, "Well, you see.." his eyes darted downwards as if the old wooden floor was the best thing he has ever seen, "well, it's been a year since… since… you know.."

"YOU AND YANAGI'S ANNIVERSARY?"

Not even a second later, Fuuko found herself face-to-face with a pillow, literally. "Damn it! I was right! You frickin' sap!" Throwing the pillow back out of reflex, she saw Recca's face blushed even further.

"Shut up, bitch!" Recca hissed, burying his face under the pillow.

"Oh sure, you love this bitch."

"Over my dead body, tomboy."

"HEY!" and she threw a punch at him.

"ITTAI! That hurts you grape-head!" Recca rubbed his sore arm, "Why do you always have to be so violent?" he mumbled.

Fuuko stuck her tongue out.

"Seriously though, Recca," Fuuko said, "I'm happy for you guys. I mean," she twirled a strand of her hair with her fingers, "Yanagi is everything a man could ever want. She's rich, nice, beautiful and smart. The perfect girl." Recca nodded in agreement. "While you.." facing Recca once again, Fuuko half pointed, half poked him, "well, let's just say that I'm happy that you guys managed to last a year.. No, scratch that. More than a year. Since.." a sly grin crept on her face, "you're the worst guy a girl could ever find."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU BITCH?!"

Fuuko guffawed in reply.

Recca was about to utter something not nice when his phone vibrated. After reading through the SMS he just received, he place his phone back on the table.

"I guess we won't be rehearsing 'til later today."

Fuuko rolled her eyes. "As if we haven't been waiting for over three hours now."

Silence enveloped the two as Recca re-read his newly composed song and scribbled a little bit more before grinning widely – a sign that he has finally finished it.

"So," Fuuko started, "let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"That song you just wrote, dumbass!"

Recca gaped at her. "This is NOT for you!"

"I know, baka!" Fuuko plopped herself back at the couch, "I just don't want you to mess it up like when you asked Yanagi out."

"HEY! I didn't—"

Fuuko laughed. "Sure, sure. Whatever. Just sing it. Think of it as a practice." She winked.

Recca stared at the lone sheet in front of him. '_I guess it won't hurt if Fuuko hears it first_,' he thought as he grabbed his guitar, and checked whether the chords are still in tune. Giving himself one last check, he tapped the guitar to set up the tempo.

_You know you're everything to me and I could never see  
The two of us apart_

Fuuko's eyebrows rose. '_Not bad.' _She has known Recca for more than half of her life, yet this is the very first time she heard him sing. Well, at least seriously.

_And you know I give myself to you and no matter what you do  
I promise you my heart  
_

As Recca's voice filled the room, Fuuko can't help but get goose bumps from it. The song is definitely filled with the sincerity and love that Recca feels for the only girl they all have risked their lives for.

_I've built my world around you and I want you to know  
I need you like I've never needed anyone before_

_I live my life for you  
I wanna be by your side in everything that you do  
And if there's only one thing you can believe is true  
I live my life for you_

Fuuko felt a little pang in her heart. From the very first day she heard of Sakoshita Yanagi, she knew that her feelings for Recca will never be reciprocated. _Ever_. However, she found herself smiling. Recca definitely fell hard for Yanagi and she can't help but be happy for her childhood friend.

_I dedicate my life to you, you know that I would die for you  
But our love would last forever  
_

Her mind slowly wandered to Raiha, that one guy who saved her lots of times from mere death and proclaimed himself as her prince. She can't help but ask herself all the things that could have happened if only he wasn't part of the Uruha, all the "what-ifs" if only he wasn't the enemy.

_And I will always be with you and there is nothing we can't do  
As long as we're together_

The small flower vase in front of her made her think of Domon. It is true that they tried dating after the Tendou Jigoku incident, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't see Domon the way he sees her. It had been more of a one-sided relationship, and it just wasn't fair to treat Domon that way. Not even a month later, she broke it off with him.

_I just can't live without you and I want you to know  
I need you like I've never needed anyone before_

Fuuko's mind then drifted to Tokiya. Sure, he might have been the most ruthless and insensitive member of the group, but that was just in the beginning. She knew that he had to make that cold front to avenge for his sister's death. Unfortunately, after his battle with his own grandfather he found out that Mifuyu died because of the Ensui and Meguri Kyoza. However, as they fought together, she got to know him a little bit more, and noticed the great change in Tokiya. He is talking a lot now, he smiles (though not as frequent as them), heck, he even calls them to hang out too!

_I live my life for you  
I wanna be by your side in everything that you do  
And if there's only one thing you can believe is true  
I live my life for you  
_

Fuuko casted a glance on the singing man and felt her heart swell, both with happiness and envy. Happiness because despite of what they all have been through, Tokiya still decided to stick with the group. Envy because she is fully aware that Tokiya only decided to stick with the group because of Yanagi.

_I live my life for you_

Suddenly, flashes of her last encounter with Tokiya made her face warmed up. She couldn't really tell whether it was just a dream or if it was real. She was really exhausted when Tokiya walked her home, and might have just been hearing things. Plus, he was gone the second she turned around to ask him about it.

She shook her head to dismiss her thoughts. _Impossible. He's deeply inlove with Yanagi. There's absolutely no way he could've said that._

…or so she thinks.

_I live my life for you_

o(^^o)

Tokiya's eyebrow twitched.

Instead of making use of his free time filling up university applications and sleeping, he was stuck in the school's conference room with the rest of the Student Council to just watch a frickin' video?

He casted a glace towards his Vice President.

Year 3, Class B. Ichigawa Masato.

Ichigawa Masato was one of the students who have been consistently involved with the Student Affairs since Year 1. He was also supposed to run as President during the filing of candidacy, but withdrew after learning that Tokiya has just filed his candidacy as President. Instead, Masato ran as a candidate for Vice President in which he won.

Speaking of which, Masato is also found inside the conference room, eyes glued to the TV screen in front of them.

Tokiya felt his eyebrow twitch again. He _so_ wanted to kill his Vice President for ruining his supposedly happy moment with Fuuko last night.

_"So… tomorrow at your place?" the purple-head said in inquiry, in which a nod came in reply. "See you then," she muttered as she turned her heel and headed for the door._

"_I can't wait."_

He didn't know what came up to him for him to say those words _aloud_, so he ran away before the said grape-head could even ask him questions. Despite the seemingly embarrassing act, a wide and warm smile was spread across his face.

…until he got a call from Masato, saying that the Student Council needs to hold an emergency meeting the very next day.

Tokiya's train of thoughts was suddenly put into a halt when Masato turned the TV off and said, "That was a clip of_ Ruiteki_'s audition yesterday. As you have seen," casting a glance at Tokiya, "Nozomu Yoji played as the band's bassist." He then took a sheet out of his bag, "According to the rules of the Student Council, no officer is allowed to participate in any competition that he or she was assigned to handle. Isn't that right, Sakoshita-san?"

Yanagi only muttered a faint "Hai."

Readjusting his glasses, Masato continued, "As we all know, we asked Sakoshita-san and Mikagami-san to withdraw from this project as they, too, are part of one of the bands who joined for this event. Consequently, the project was passed to Nozomu-san; however he, too, was found participating in the competition."

A round of voices were heard all over the conference room.

"If you are to give the project to someone else, then to whom?" Nozomu Yoji asked from the other side of the room.

"Oh right," one of the board members said, "there's no one else here who's good enough to handle big events such as this other than Nozomu-san and Sakoshita-san."

Another round of voices were heard all over the boardroom until another board member raised his hand.

"To be fair, how about we ask Sakoshita-san and Nozomu-san to withdraw from their respective bands and let them handle the event?"

The mere suggestion was replied with nods and affirmative answers.

"You can't do that!" Yoji shouted. "It was written in the rules that those who participated in the first screening will be the band's final line up."

"Then I guess we have to make an exception" came from the other end of the table. All eyes turned to Masato. "Either withdraw from the band or we'll cancel the entire event." Turning to face Yanagi, he added, "Same goes with you, Sakoshita-san."

Yanagi turned her gaze to Tokiya, then back to Masato, she nodded.

Sensing the panic from Yanagi's eyes, Tokiya spoke up, "I suggest we give Sakoshita-san and Nozomu-san a week to decide." After earning nods from almost everybody in the room, he gathered his stuff and stood up. "Meeting adjourned." And he walked out of the room.

Tokiya cursed inwardly. Masato almost took over the entire meeting. He is supposed to be the president, not him! Heaving a frustrated sigh, he started rambling his brain on how to keep the band without Yanagi. Everything has been going smoothly until Yoji messed it all up.

'_They do have a point though,'_ another part of his brain said, _'If the project was given to Yoji then he shouldn't be participating in the competition as well.'_ Letting out another sigh, he continued walking.

"Mikagami-sempai!"

Tokiya stopped on his tracks, twisting his head toward the now-approaching Yanagi.

"I—"

"It's okay, Yanagi-san," he said, "We'll deal with it. Right now though," he glanced on his watch, "I'm pretty sure the two monkeys are fuming right now for making them wait." He let out a smirk. "I heard Gorilla-san didn't show up too."

"H-hai."

o(^^o)

"WHAT?!"

Tokiya rubbed his ear, "Why don't you say it again, Kirisawa? I don't think the neighbors heard you."

"I _am_ their neighbor," Fuuko deadpanned.

"Let me rephrase it then." Tokiya cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. "Why don't you say it again, Kirisawa? I don't think the rest of Japan heard you."

Tokiya cocked an eyebrow when Fuuko abruptly got up from her seat and walked towards him. He even felt a shock of electricity run through his body when he suddenly felt Fuuko's hands wrapped around him from behind.

'_W-what is this monkey up to right now?'_ he thought as he felt all eyes on them. Tokiya forced himself to frown to keep himself from blushing (as well as to keep his amusement to himself). Even more when Fuuko slowly inched her face towards his ear.

Hokkaido, Japan. Around the same time.

"ITADAKIMASU!"

"Woah, slow down Fujimaru-san! Misora-san made a lot of food for us today." Saicho said as he reached for his chopsticks.

"But we haven't had this much food in a while," Fujimaru said in between munches, "I was gonna ask what's the occasion today, but gotta fill my stomach first." His eyes roamed around the table, and spotted his prey. "Ah! Misora-chan also made Ika Sho—Aree?!"

The other Ku members stood in alarm too.

"Earthquake?!"

Back in Nashikiri…

"DAMN IT YOU MONKEY!" Tokiya shouted as his rubbed his battered ear.

Fuuko stuck out her tongue.

"Okay, break it off kids." Recca said, seemingly unaffected, "let's get back to the topic."

"Right," Domon casted a glance at Yanagi, "so does this mean you won't be playing with us anymore?"

"I'm really sorry," came Yanagi's weak reply.

"Yo Mii-bou. Can't you bend the rules a bit? You're the president after all."

Tokiya sighed. "Those rules were written even before I became the Council President," unaware of the surprised looks the others gave him, he folded his arms in front of his chest, "as much as I want to, we have to comply to the rules."

Fuuko inched towards Domon and Recca and hissed, "He didn't notice he just shouted at us, did he?"

"Apparently not." Recca whispered back, and Domon nodded.

"I can read lips, you fools." Came another shout from Tokiya.

Yanagi sweatdropped. _'Some things will never change._' Considering the upcoming banter between the four, she cleared her throat to get their attention. "Anou.. Mikagami-sempai gave us one week to decide, so.." she trailed off.

Wrapping an arm over Yanagi, Recca cheerfully said, "It's okay, Yanagi, really. We'll just work twice as hard, just like we did during UBS." Yanagi only blushed in return.

"Well, isn't that the sweetest thing ever," Fuuko threw a pillow at them. "You two make me wanna throw up."

Recca threw the pillow back. "Urusai!" A sly grin slowly formed in his face, "if you're _that_ jealous of me and Yanagi, why don't you ask Mii-bou to wrap his arm around you too."

"Why does it have to be Mii-bou?! I'm here! I'm here!" Domon exclaimed as he started to reach out to Fuuko, only to meet face-to-face with her fist.

Fuuko secretly glanced at Tokiya and felt her face warmed up.

Tokiya cleared his throat, "back to the topic. If Yanagi-san decides to withdraw from the band, as the sea-monkey has said, we need to work twice, or even thrice, as hard."

"What do you suggest we do then, Mii-bou?"

"We're gonna have to reshuffle the band."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Ohohoho! Reshuffling the band, eh? I wonder what'll happen. :] and what's this, Recca sings too!? :O WOAH! Hahaha. I know, I'm also kinda shocked. But hey. I was inspired to write a chapter about a singing Recca when FukuWija posted a YouTube video of Recca's seiyuu singing on FaceBook. LOL

And oh, I would love to thank the Team Ku for guesting on this chapter. XD Yay! Oh, I located them up in Hokkaido because I think it was said either in the manga or anime that Team Ku came from the northern part of Japan.

_Next Chapter_: Reshuffling of the band, and their first gig outside of school. ^_^

Tell me you love me by reviewing! ^_^ hahaha . By the way, the song is entitled 'I Live My Life for You' by Firehouse, perfect for RecYan, ne? ^_^

And oh! Please support my other fic entitled "Storm." It's written on Raiha's POV and I'm really proud of that fic for some reason. XD

See you guys on the next chapter! Tata~


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